Weft feeler for looms



July 29. 1924. V c. D. BROWN WEFT FEELER FOR LOOMS Filed May 6. 1921 TE -"Z.

\ Car? 1). Brown) Patented duly 29, 1924.

pairs stares CARL D. BRD'VVN, OF I-IOPEI'd-.klTEl MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB TO DBAPER CORPORA- PATENT QFFECE.

TION, OF HOPEDALE, MASSAGHU$ETTS, A. COR-EQRA'FION OF MAINE. I

WEFT F'EELER non. LGOMS.

A lication filed. May 6,

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, CARL D. BROWN, of Hopedale, in the county of VVOrcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new l/Veft F eeler for Looms, of which the following is a specification.

This invention consists in a new tip for a.

side slipping feeler and particularly for such feelers as are set forth in United States Letters Patent of Stimpson No. 1,309,226, July 8, 1919. The object of the present invention is to furnish a feeler tip which shall adequately cling to the wound mass of weft within the working shuttle of the loom irrespective of irregularities and unevenness in the weft surface but which will nevertheless slip on the bare bobbin or other weft carrier when the weft approaches exhaustion.

The improved feeler tip is shown in the accompanying drawings, as applied to aside slipping feeler of'the' character shown in the aforesaid St-impson patent.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view of the feeler mechanism showing the new feeler tip in contact with the full mass of weft on the weft carrier. Fig. 2 shows the feeler tip as having moved sidewise after coming in contact withthe smooth surface of the nearly bared weft carrier. Fig. 3 shows the feeler tip detached from the feeler arm. Fig. 4c shows the construction of the rear end of the feeler arm whereby the feeler tip is maintained in place during use. Fig. 5 shows the rear end of the feeler arm with the tip ap-..

plied. Figs. 3, 4 and 5, are on a larger scale than Figs. 1 and 2.

The feeler tip A, as shown in Fig. 3, is a helically coiled resilient metallic wire which presents a plurality of convolutions constituting teeth for contact with the weft or the surface of the weft carrier. The longitudinal axis of the coiled wire extends in a direction substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis of the weft carrier when the tip occupies its normal position as .indicated in Fig. 5,.wherein the tangent to the curve 2', is parallel to the axis of the weft carrier. Owing to the helical formation of the feeler tip each tooth convolution where it contacts with the weft is inclined with respect to a plane intersectingatright angles the longitudinal axis of the weft carrier.

- Owing to the yielding character of the resilient wire of the tip, each tooth can yield under the impact of the wound mass of weft Each wire convolution constituting a tooth can yield forwardly and slip laterally in either direction with respect to the feeler arm upon the impact of the weft in a shuttle in accordance with the contour of the weft and irrespective of the effect of the 7 weft upon the neighboring teeth. While the several teeth, under the impact of th weft, may all yield forwardly and slip laterally in one direction or the other, nevertheless, the extent and d1rect1on of yieldand slipof each tooth is dependent upon the condition of the weft contacting with it, so that each tooth slips laterally and yields forwardly differentially with respect to the remaining teeth of the tip.

This improved feeler tip is secured to the rear end of the feeler arm B by the construction illustrated in Fig. 4. The rear end of the feeler arm is provided with .two aligned prongs C which extend toward each other with a gap between their neighbouring free ends. When the feeler arm is in the normal position shown in Fig. 5, these prongs extend toward each other in a direction which is substantially parallel with the axis of the weft carrier. These prongs are spaced rearwardly beyond the rear wall D of the feeler arm soas to provide recesses E of adequate width to freely receive the wire convolutions as shown in Fig. 5. The open gap between the ends of the two prongs is sufficiently wide to receive the. tip when the convolutions are pressed together by endwise compression of the tip. ()ne end of the tip is inserted through this upon one prong and the tip is then compressed lengthwise until its other end can slip past the second prong; whereupon, on relieving the tip from endwise compression, the tip expands outwardly to occup both recesses E, as illustrated in Fig. 5. Preferably the length of the tip is such that when the tip expands it presses against the outer wall 1 of each recess E, so that the tip when n use is under suflicieut compr ssion, and

does not have endwise looseness on the rear end of the feelcr arm. The cei-led tip does net fit the prongs snugly but loosely encircles them so that each tooth of the tip is free to yield forwardly under the impact of the weft both where the tip surrounds the prongs as well as Where it bridges the gap between the prongs. Thus the teeth of the tip are free to accommodate themselves to the surface of the weft mass.

Since the ends of the spring coil are con-fined inthe recesses E, E, and the coil is under compression, the tip is bowed or that the weft encounters the middle in advance of the ends .of the tip. This provides an additional cushioning effect as the weft encounters the tip, and also increases the tendency of the coils to penetrate the weft, thus aiding in preventing premature side-slip.

The wire of which the tip is composed can he of a fineness and sectional shape to accommodate the tip of the character of weft en'iployed. The drawings show the wire round in crosssection and smooth on its exterior surface so that it can not cut the \aeft, and it slips readily on the smooth surface of the weft carrier when the weft is so far depleted that the surface of the weft carrier comes in contact with the tip. Hence, the tip end of the feeler slips sidewise upon the bare weft carrier as indicated in Fig. 2, and thus initiates weft repl en i shment.

When the feeler tip wears out it can be readily removed and a fresh one inserted,

The remainder of the feeler mechanism shown in Figs. 1 and '2 constitutes no part of the present invention. The feeler arm 13, its actuating spring Gr,- the runner O, the swivel P, and th controller H which is moved by the lateral slip of the feeler arm are the same as in the aforesaid Stimpson patent and act in the same way to initiate weft replenishment. Also, the drawings illustrate aweft carrier J, the mass of weft K wound thereon and a portion of the shuttle L, in a conventional manner for the purpose of illustrating the cooperation between the feeler tip and the weft and weft car rier.

I claim 1. A side slipping feelcr having a fceler arm with separated prongs at its rearend which approach each other with a gap between them and spaced rearward'ly beyond the rear wall of the feeler arm, in combination with a helically coiled resilient wire feeler tip loosely encircling said prongs and maintained under normal endwise compression.

2. A helically coiled resilient wire feeler tip.

A feeler tip having a plurality of resilient metallic teeth, each of which can slip laterally and yield forwardly differentially with respect to the remaining teeth of the tip,

4. A side-slipping feeler having a feeler tip consisting of a helically coiled resilient wire, said wire tip being rearwardly curved or bowed so that its middle encounters the weft in advance of its ends.

5. A side-slipping feeler having a feeler tip consisting of a coiled resilient wire curved or bowed so that its middle encounters the Weft in advance of its ends.

6, Afeeler having a tip consisting of coiled resilient wire rearwardly curved or bowed so that its middle encounters the weft in advance of its ends.

.In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

CAR-L D. BROWN, 

